House of Sand and Fog (2003)

A Masterpiece!

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The pain, of being free from work is the beauty of not being free from work. Not being free from work is not being free from oppression.Not being free is being unfree. Being unfree is being oppressed. Beauty is being oppressed from oppression.Being oppressed is being controlled. Being controlled is not control. Not control is freedom. Beauty is freedom from oppression.Freedom from oppression is oppression that isn't from freedom. Oppression that isn't from freedom is oppression that's from oppression.Beauty is oppression being from itself - beauty is oppression being because of itself.Oppression is inequality. Inequality is disparity. Disparity is greater power. Beauty is greater power that's because of itself.Greater power isn't greater or power. Greater power is weaker weakness. Weaker weakness is worse weakness. Worse weakness is greater weakness. Greater weakness is better weakness. A better weakness is perverse power. Beauty is perverse power that's because of itself.Perverse power is logical weakness. Logical weakness is a logical absence of logic.Beauty is the logic of no logic that creates itself.Logic is authority. The opposite of authority is freedom. Beauty is the authority of freedom that creates itself.Beauty is an independent power that's always been responsible for itself.Beauty is a dependent weakness that's always been responsible for itself.A dependent weakness is a weak weakness. A weak weakness is a weakness that's chosen. Beauty is a chosen weakness that's chosen.A chosen weakness is a forced power. A forced power is an oppressive power. An oppressive power is a pure oppression.A pure oppression is a free oppression. A free oppression is a chosen oppression. A chosen oppression is a chosen weakness.Choosing a chosen weakness is a chosen power. Making the free choice to choose an oppressive power is beautiful.Making the free choice to be oppressed by a free weakness is beautiful.Beauty is when goodness freely decides to let evil take over reality.Beauty is when evil is forced to take over reality, because goodness hasn't the power to accept the knowledge of an alternative

This title was released in theaters but you could of fooled me. The entire feel and production of this over-rated drama is that of the Saturday night feature on Lifetime network. Not to say it's as sappy as most TV dramas but this film will make you glad you didn't dish out $15 to see it in theaters. The major failing is the script; the Lester character suffers the most with unmoving robotic dribble. Overall, the acting is acceptable but hardly exceptional. The plot is rendered mute because of the lack of any real power or feeling in the character lines who at times seem like they wish they were somewhere else. Unfortunately so will you.

I recommend watching this movie as an analogy for situations when you can sympathize with two sides of a conflict but also need to see how there is no easy answer. I see a very strong metaphor to the Israel-Palestine conflict, without giving too much away, view the Iranian, Behrani (Ben Kingsley), as the Israelis, being evicted from their home in Europe after World War II due to a descent into madness and attempting to build a new home with a great deal of hard work, and Kathy as the Palestinians, who rightfully own the house but had it re-possessed. View Lester the Police Officer as the other Arab counties and the Lawyer as the Americans. View the sex scene as the thrill and exhilaration of conflict.Superbly acted and directed. When viewed as an analogy to the Israeli and Palestinians it is the only movie I've seen that allows me to fully empathize with both sides and yet not take a side. Can anyone reply with a similar movie on this topic? I've seen no other movie that fits this topic so well, and I'm not sure if the Author intended this interpretation, however, there is this quote in the movie about the land of milk and honey, which is a biblical reference to Israel."Dat's what they say of this country back home, Kath: 'America, the land of milk and honey.' Bot they never tell you the milk's gone sour and the honey's stolen."

This is the first time I have written a review on this site, which may give some indication of the emotional force of this movie. Only the hardest and most resolutely cynical of hearts will not be moved. It is a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare or Sophocles - as has already been stated by many reviewers; like those epic and operatic tragedies one needs apply a little suspension of disbelief to immerse oneself fully in the narrative.OK that aside it was just good but could have been great. Maybe because it was based upon a bestselling novel the material was handled lazily, there were many instances where I found myself irritated by the logical inconsistencies that could have been easily managed,which proved ultimately to be an unnecessary distraction. As a lawyer I found the legal advice given to Jennifer's character utterly irresponsible - to suggest that following the sale of a house at auction there was a good chance that she could recover the property within two weeks because of a clerical error with the local authority was shocking both from a legal and commercial perspective and totally inconsistent with the facts. Jennifer's character was irrational and tragic enough to have been presented clear competent legal advice and still held our sympathy. For a movie with this budget they could have got professional advisers to assist. It misled the audience, which created a distorted perception of the parties rights and plights and thereby distorting our sympathies.I also found it a little incredulous that the female protagonist would fall so quickly and easily into the arms of the field training officer I would like to have seen that from a slightly different angle "the accidental femme fatale" in her lack of legal insight genuinely believing that he could be a knight in shining armour - instead we were presented with this unconvincing and bizarre chemistry.We arrive at the story where she had been dry (off the booze) for eight months so how did she miss the business tax demands and letters piling up on her doorstep - that was never fully explained - was it her husband who racked up the tax liability? I couldn't work out how the repossession notice came about and who was ultimately responsible and the tax liability and the nexus between the two - a little more attention to detail would have saved a lot of unnecessary head scratching as whilst this may sound like a lawyer nit picking they were actually central to the plot and where our sympathies fell.7/10 I think is a fair score but it could have been a 9/10 with a little extra effort.